Getting Up Guide: Curated YouTube clips and Beer Week

By
Stephanie Merry

What are your plans tonight? The Getting Up Guide is here to help you answer that question. Here's what's happening on Friday:

The YouTube Salon
YouTube is kind of an overwhelming place. For every great video -- the slightly impaired man with flip-flop troubles at Coachella, bewildered little David after the dentist, Cookie Monster's rendition of "Chocolate Rain" -- there are probably 100 home movies that make you want to scream, "Your cat isn't as cute as you think it is!" Luckily, Art Outlet is recruiting seven "curators" to sift through the visual garbage so you don't have to. The group includes a photographer, graphic designer, composer, sociologist and Weekend staff writer Lavanya Ramanathan. While the event takes place at Arlington's Northside Social, some of the curators will be offering their picks from farther afield, via video conference from such places as New Orleans, Tokyo and Mannheim, Germany. After the presentation, stick around for an inevitable debate about the merits of the selections and music courtesy of DJ Yoko K.

D.C. Beer Week
Tonight marks the beginning of D.C. Beer Week - eight nights of beer dinners, beer tastings, brewer meet-and-greets and unveilings of rare-in-D.C. ales and lagers at more than two dozen local bars. (We have a list of recommended events on goingoutguide.com). The kickoff event, though, is more cerebral than bacchanalian: A beer-centric edition of the monthly Nerd Nite happy hour at the Rock and Roll Hotel. Showing off their big brains and obscure knowledge via PowerPoint this month are ChurchKey beer sommelier Greg Engert; brewer Brian Strumke of Baltimore's Stillwater Artisanal Ales; and NIH neuroscientist Tracy Jill Doty, who will explain why our brains like alcohol and examine the positive and negative effects that drinking creates on our gray matter. Between talks, there's a performance by Imperial China. At 10 p.m., there's an optional seminar with beer pairings and live music by Cobra Commander, the Torches and New Rock Church of Fire.

Rihanna
The average pop star's shelf life dwindles ever more rapidly as the public's appetite for disposable music and lurid personal details increases. Considering this state of affairs and the tumultuous year Rihanna had in 2009, maybe we shouldn't expect much more from her. But despite it all, she's riding a wave, working hits from her fourth album, "Rated R." At 22, she can still rely on her sex appeal and pop craft to thrill arenas before perhaps employing more of the strategies used by Janet Jackson and Madonna, two entertainers and hit machines whom Rihanna cites as major influences.